Here’s the main reason everyone wants an Onza Aquila…

Where were you August 5th this year? If you can’t remember, let us remind you. You were very possibly watching the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup Downhill race. If you were, you’ll remember the legendary race run above.

How Aaron Gwin stayed upright and got away with the lines he did will forever remain a mystery.

One things for certain though: Google searches for “aaron gwin tyre” went through the roof shortly after he crossed the line.

Here is the tyre that Gwin was running. Technically Gwin runs the non-folding DH carcass Aquila.

He designed the tyre himself, and according to the Onza bod in the video at the of this page, Aaron designed it on a napkin during a meeting in Starbucks!

The burly Onza Aquila versions will come in either ‘RC245a’ rubber (45a/55a dual compound) or with ‘VISCO GRP40’ rubber (a super soft/sticky compound with damping properties). They will have 40x40TPI DH casing.

The Onza Aquila is going to be made in a more trail- and enduro-friendly folding bead version with reinforced sidewalls.

And yes, there will also be 29er versions (29 x 2.4) as well as the 27.5 versions. There will be both the trail version and the DH version coming in 29in apparently.

More fuel to the fire that Gwin will do a World Cup round or two next year on a 29er…

Sniff Gwin’s rubber

Who doesn’t love a good rubber-sniffing session eh? Chances are if you’re reading this then you are heavily into your tyre tech. We all know that there’s no such thing the perfect tyre but that doesn’t stop us endlessly searching for one.

The new Onza Aquila is Aaron Gwin’s version of the Holy Grail tyre. It’s an intermediate-conditions downhill tyre that will be pressed into service in all conditions other than total mudbaths.

Those with keen eyes and an obsessive’s knowledge of mountain bike tyres will probably be looking at the Onza Aquila and thinking “Specialized Butcher meets Maxxis Minion DHR”.

And that’s pretty much what the Onza Aquila is. In terms of knob design anyway. It’s a Butcher at the sides and a Minion DHR in the middle. And all the knobs are aligned to each other in a grid pattern (not staggered).

Gwin was essentially after the cornering performance of the Butcher but the braking performance of the Minion DHR. The Onza Aquila will be Gwin’s signature tyre and as such will bear the ‘E.R.A.’ acronym on the sidewall (Elite Racing Associate).